


Fears

by Lire_Casander



Series: Insomnia [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-10
Updated: 2013-09-10
Packaged: 2017-12-26 05:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lire_Casander/pseuds/Lire_Casander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you fears become real?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fears

The dawn surprised them still in the kitchen. Lupin leaned in the doorframe, not daring to step in and wake them up. It was the first time he had seen the two of them sleeping. He observed them for a good while.

 

Harry had his head leaned on top of Draco's, and his chest rose and fell with his even breathing. Draco had his face crushed against Harry’s chest, and their fingers were interlaced. 

 

Lupin smiled inwardly. It was only a matter of time before both realized what was obvious for the rest of the world. In the last five years, Grimmauld Place had witnessed the meetings and mix-ups of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, in their attempt to get to know themselves and put up with each other. Lupin knew that they could never get along if they continued hiding secrets that hurt them that much. Nobody knew what Harry saw in dreams; nobody knew why Draco was more and more haggard. But everyone was conscious that those unsaid things were the cause of their grief. 

 

Lupin coughed slightly to wake them up finally. Although they had managed to sleep, even for only one night, they had to get up and be prepared to travel to Hogwarts. It was going to be a very long day. 

 

Harry was the first to open his eyes, unfocused and still dazed. He had a strange weight on his chest, and when he lowered his eyes, he discovered that it was Draco. He smiled sweetly, remembering the previous night. He shook the Slytherin’s shoulder, and Draco woke up. 

 

"Harry, Draco," said Lupin in a smooth voice. "I'm sorry for waking you, but there's an emergency at Hogwarts and Hermione can't take charge of it." 

 

"Hermione Granger can't take charge of something?" Draco repeated, incredulous. "That's new." 

 

"Ron owled a while ago. Hermione has had a nervous attack, and the school is a bit out of control. Scrimgeour approved the mission about half an hour ago. The case is yours." 

 

"What case? What happened at Hogwarts?" inquired Harry, clearly worried. 

 

"I don't know," responded Lupin, shaking his head. "They haven't given me any explanation, only that they wanted _you_ to be there as soon as possible. The sooner the better, in fact." 

 

Harry rose abruptly, dropping Malfoy's arm, which had been resting on him still, against the table. He whispered a hurried "sorry" and went to his room to change. Draco followed him shortly after. Less than twenty minutes later they were ready to Apparate to the iron gates of Hogwarts. 

 

A thick fog covered everything, preventing them from seeing properly. The persistent blindness increased the nervousness Harry felt. It was the first time in years he was going to work with someone – his last partner had died in the battle. Neville had been a good friend until the end. 

 

He pushed the cold metal and he entered the school's grounds followed by Draco, who walked a couple of steps behind him. Both had the feeling of being watched – that was not nice. 

 

They passed by Hagrid's cabin, dark in spite of the daylight. The windows had the shutters closed as an expression of grief for the death of the half-giant that last day of the war, when everyone lost everything. Harry bent his head when passing it, overcome by pain and repentance; a warm hand settled on his shoulder. He didn't have to turn to know that Draco understood his pain. 

 

"The fog is dissipating," said Draco in a higher-than-normal voice. Harry knew that he was on the brink of tears. He nodded, too busy keeping his own emotions at bay. After losing Dumbledore, Hagrid's death had been the one that had affected him the most. 

 

The fog had retreated entirely by the time they arrived at the school. They could see Gryffindor tower half demolished, shining against the relatively clear sky. The east wing of the castle presented a sad façade, single stones jutting out from the walls. Everything remained just as it had been five years before, when Voldemort tried to destroy the castle before cornering Harry in Godric's Hollow. 

 

Everything was a symbol of how much they had been destroyed. Of how broken they still were. 

 

Draco's hand was still on his shoulder when Ron opened the door. 

 

"Thank Merlin you're here!" the red-haired man exclaimed. "Hermione has spent the night in the hospital wing.  Ginny didn't want her to come back to our room." 

 

"What's happening Ron?" Harry asked as a greeting. "Lupin said that you needed us both, but you didn't say for what." 

 

"Come in." 

 

They followed him through narrow corridors until they arrived at the third floor bathroom. Memories haunted them. Images of a washbasin exploding, blood, too much blood, an unknown spell and scars on very white skin. 

 

"What the hell is inside?" Harry asked. "Why have you requested our presence?" 

 

"Because it's something that concerns you both. Hermione has not been able to fix this, and I can’t seem to get to it. We need this bathroom. And we need it _now_." 

 

They had arrived at the door of the bathroom almost without realizing. Draco's hand was still on Harry's shoulder, but the pressure had diminished. When the weight disappeared, Harry felt an emptiness inside, that unrecognizable feeling arising to fill it. 

 

Ron pushed open the wood door. Everything was exactly as they had last seen it, except that a heavy fabric hid part of the washbasins. Ron urged them to remove the fabric and quickly walked out the door. He didn't want to be there when _it_ awoke. 

 

Harry looked at Draco. Draco looked at Harry. Each stretched a hand and pulled the fabric away. The washbasin that lead to the Chamber of Secrets was open, and the mirror seemed to have a life of its own. It reflected the room for a second before exchanging the scene for a shady place where red and green rays flew freely. Harry turned towards Ron to ask him, but his friend was nowhere to be seen. Therefore, he directed an inquisitive look at Draco. 

 

"What do you think it is?" 

 

"It seems to be a mirror charmed to show something other than our reflections," Draco said. "In theory it should be easy to break the charm." 

 

"I believe the problem is _what_ it shows," indicated Harry. "It must be more complicated than it seems, because otherwise Hermione would've fixed it." 

 

"Well. Let's see it." 

 

They approached and saw the battlefield the last day of war, Godric's Hollow full of Death Eaters who attacked the Order, which was commanded by Harry. The sky was darkened by clouds that threatened storm and the smoke that emerged from the hollows where trees had stood before they were cursed. 

 

"Do you see what I see?" he asked Draco, getsuring to the mirror like he was hypnotized. 

 

"It's the final battle. But I don't see why Hermione---" 

 

Then a flash of light in the mirror called his attention. What he saw terrified him. He understood the reason why Hermione had not been able to break the charm on the mirror. 

 

That device was absolutely evil. 

 

He was able to peel his eyes off the mirror to put them on Draco, who watched it, face paler than usual. He was watching the mirror completely transfixed, his grey eyes never leaving it. Suddenly he broke his gaze on the glass and looked at Harry. 

 

"You're alive," he whispered. 

 

"Of course I'm alive," Harry responded in the same voice. "What happens, Draco?" 

 

"The mirror---" 

 

Harry returned to watch against his will. In the mirror, Godric's Hollow was a swarm of spells. Nevertheless, he only saw a blond mop that tried to escape from a green beam. Lucius Malfoy was pursuing him, and suddenly an _Avada Kedavra_ reached a fleeing Draco. The young Malfoy fell on the ground, and Harry wanted to shout. 

 

He realized a while later that he was was indeed screaming. 

 

"Harry, Harry, calm down," Draco tighetened his grip on Harry's arm. "It's only an image." 

 

"What do you see, Draco?" 

 

For a moment, the former Slytherin closed his eyes. He thought he had understood the mechanism of that mirror, something of the style of the Mirror of Erised. He shook his head; he didn't want to say it aloud. But the inquisitive glance of those green eyes forced him to say something. 

 

"I see the final battle," he began. "It--- he--- has you cornered, like then, but--- he throws you an--- an---" he couldn't pronounce it. "And you died there--- alone, without aid, I wasn't close enough--- I know that it's nothing more than a stupid dream, a nightmare that I'd better forget---" 

 

Harry inspected the frame of the mirror, careful not to look at the reflection directly. _Mirror of Yamsid_. 

 

"This mirror shows your more intimate fears," said a voice at their backs, frightening them. "Only two people whose fears are the heads and tails of the same tossed coin will be able to undo the spell." 

 

When they turned, they saw Ginny standing in the door, avoiding all eye contact with the mirror. "Ron and Hermione have the same fears, and Hermione doesn't know how to face them. She never knew. My apprehensions—well, let's say that they don't have anything to compare to. In the end we thought about you, opposites after all." 

 

Draco didn't say a word, shocked. Harry recalled Ginny's words. What if it were true that his fears contrasted with Draco's? How could he know for sure? 

 

His fear became a physical pain - a pain so great that he could hardly stand it. He wondered whether that was what Hermione felt whenever she faced the mirror. The impotence of not being able to do a thing. 

 

In his case, Lucius Malfoy was still alive, so that scene could still take place. But who wants to kill their own son? 

 

"I see you dying too," he said aloud. "In Godric's Hollow. I see you die--- and I don't want you to---" 

 

Draco embraced him forcefully, not letting go of him. He was alive; he was still sane, thanks to Harry. He couldn't stand the vision of his rescuer suffering like that. When the first tears slipped down Harry's cheeks, Draco wanted them to disappear. 

 

He brushed Harry’s cheeks with his smooth knuckles, smearing the tears more than drying them, that unrecognizable feeling arose in him and urged him to approach even more. They had lived through years of desperation and sadness, of too many hidden secrets struggling to be known. 

 

He welcomed Harry into his arms, and he held him so close that he could feel the beats of Harry's heart. A stolen glance out of the corner of his eyes to the mirror confirmed his fears once again, but the weight of that body between his arms was much more real that the spells of a memory that never existed. 

 

They looked each other in the eyes, before Draco identified his feelings. He could see recognition in Harry's, and that gave him the courage to go ahead. 

 

He leaned in smoothly and put his lips on Harry's. It was a fleeting contact before their lips were fused in a deeper kiss. Neither of them heard how the Mirror of Yamsid broke in a thousand pieces, destroying their biggest fears with it. 

 

They were broken, they were destroyed. 

 

And nevertheless they were complete.


End file.
